PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN OLD VERSION. The current version is linked from The Complete Lojban Language.
Previous
Tensed logical connectives 		Imaginary Journeys: The Lojban Space/Time Tense System
The Lojban Reference Grammar 		Next
Actuality, potentiality, capability: CAhA

18. Tense negation

Any bridi which involves tenses of selma'o PU, FAhA, or ZAhO can be contradicted by a ``-nai'' suffixed to the tense cmavo. Some examples:

18.1)    mi punai klama le zarci
    I [past] [not] go-to the market.
    I didn't go to the market.
As a contradictory negation, Example 18.1 implies that the bridi as a whole is false without saying anything about what is true. When the negated tense is a sumti tcita, ``-nai'' negation indicates that the stated relationship does not hold: 
18.2)    mi klama le zarci canai le nu
        do klama le zdani
    I go-to the market [present] [not] the event-of
        you go-to the house.
    It is not true that I went to the market at the same
        time that you went to the house.

18.3) le nanmu batci le gerku ne'inai le kumfa
    The man bites the dog [within] [not] the room.
    The man didn't bite the dog inside the room.

18.4) mi morsi ca'onai le nu mi jmive
    I am-dead [continuitive - negated] the event-of I live.
    It is false that I am dead during my life.
It is also possible to perform scalar negation of whole tense constructs by placing a member of NAhE before them. Unlike contradictory negation, scalar negation asserts a truth: that the bridi is true with some tense other than that specified. The following examples are scalar negation analogues of Examples 18.1 to 18.3: 
18.5)    mi na'e pu klama le zarci
    I [non-] [past] go-to the market.
    I go to the market other than in the past.

18.6) le nanmu batci le gerku to'e ne'i le kumfa
    The man bites the dog [opposite-of] [within] the room.
    The man bites the dog outside the room.

18.7) mi klama le zarci na'e ca le nu
        do klama le zdani
    I go-to the market [non-] [present] the event-of
        you go-to the house.
    I went to the market at a time other than the time at
        which you went to the house.

18.8) mi morsi na'e ca'o le nu mi jmive
    I am-dead [non-] [continuitive] the event-of I live.
    I am dead other than during my life.
Unlike ``-nai'' contradictory negation, scalar negation of tenses is not limited to PU and FAhA: 
18.9)    le verba na'e ri'u cadzu le bisli
    The child [non-] [right] walks-on the ice
    The child walks on the ice other than to my right.
The use of ``-nai'' on cmavo of TAhE and ROI has already been discussed in Section 9; this use is also a scalar negation.
Previous
Tensed logical connectives 		Imaginary Journeys: The Lojban Space/Time Tense System
The Lojban Reference Grammar 		Next
Actuality, potentiality, capability: CAhA